Where were you born, and what was your childhood like?
I was born in Athens Georgia. I spent the first five years of my life in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I was a nervous, quirky child with a vivid imagination. It would be many years later I would reveal I was abused as a child. This is a story for another time. I actually have a story under a pen name of Sherich Reison title The Troubled Child.*
Do you remember the first book you picked up for reading?
I do! It was Charlotte’s Web. I got it in the school library. It was a talking pig, a spider and other farm animals who all talked. I read it twice.
What kind of cultural value do you think reading and writing have/brings?
I can’t stress how important reading should be for children. Now a-days with games and videos reading is overlooked far to much. We learn so much from reading as we grow. It saddens me when I see a child say they don’t like to read. They have no idea what worlds they are missing. There is power in learning to read and comprehend.
How were you first introduced to writing?
My mom was deaf. She barely heard with a hearing aid. She read as a child who spent a lot of time alone and instilled in me the importance of reading & writing. She gave me my first notebook when I was nine and told me to write my thoughts down. She’s make me explain what I wrote to see if I comprehended. I had over forty poems written by time I was thirteen or so. This hooked me early on. We were poor so college was out of the question. I published my first Indie Book in 2014 when Amazon made free publishing available. You may guess which one it is. Chasing the Lights Series.
What challenges did you face while writing your book, The Troubled Child?
I had to let go of the fear I would offend someone else. I waited for years to even breath a bit about my childhood and finally decided to do a very rated G version. I don’t believe the full story will ever be told. I had to change names so as not to involve other family members. This was my story only. I had some bad dreams after writing and questioned weather it helped me more or hurt me more. In the end I felt vindicated in sharing with possibly someone else who needed to know they were not alone. This book does not begin to get the recognition it deserves.
Did you plan all the books in advance in the Chasing the Lights series?
No I had a dream about a red haired girl chasing lights through the forest one night and that was book 1. CT Has a Journey. (Of course since then I’ve thought of so many better titles for book 1-hindsight is 20/20.) These books all lead me to the next journey as I write. CT saw a ghost so that became book 2. Book 3 brought Vernon the witch. My great nephew asked if I would create him a character so he could be in my stories so John the Angel in book three is for my great nephew named Little John. Book four took a bit of thinking about how to end it. This continues this summer with a new Saga I’m excited about.
Why did you choose Lillie to narrate the novel, Fade To Black?
Lillie represents strength & beauty. She became the one who grounded everyone in every situation. She was/is the glue that binds them all. She reminds me of someone who befriended me many years ago. This lady was so intelligent, beautiful, powerful. She was everything I hoped I could be one day. I knew by time I was halfway through book two that Lillie would have to tell her story.
What advice do you have for new and aspiring authors?
You will hear so many things rom others. Some will help you, some will only confuse you. Just be yourself and be true to who you are and what you want to write about. I write in several genres and find this easy but some don’t. Some pick one genre and stay with it. Don’t force a story where it is not there. Protect your words constantly from all. This is so important. I’m sorry to say people will steal your story. Get references and referrals before sharing to much of your creative self. There are plenty of us who will help with directions and people you can trust.
Do you prefer writing on a notepad first or you directly start writing on your computer?
All my stories go directly into a word document. I don’t do outlines. I have terribly messy notes. I write freestyle.
If you ever get writer’s block, where do you go to overcome it, or what activities help you overcome it?
I’ve only had a few mild blocks and luckily my hubby loves brainstorming with me. He has given me so many parts of my thriller stories. My ghost story Greybeard is from him. I call him or I do have an Author who is my trusted editor and she gives me advice also.
What is the best experience you had by putting yourself out of your comfort zone?
I was very shy and never thought my writing was good enough no matter what my mom said. For me it was the pivatol moment I had written & edited my first story but had not allowed anyone to know I did this. I wish I could remember the Authors name on the magazine I read at the time. She was uplifting and told her story about how hard it had been for her, especially as a minority to get anyone to speak seriously to her. Her husband and mom believed in her so much they lifted her up and after much hard work, she became a best selling Author. By the end of the article she related something to the effect that you take your words and form them into a readable story. You re-write it and let someone you trust read it. Not everyone will write a perfect story but everyone has the right to express themselves and put pen to paper. You put it to spine and cover with your name on it. You then have a right to call yourself a Published Author. She told me I was indeed a Published Author with a good book.
Having ten published books, what has been the biggest lesson?
I actually, have 11, 12 if you count the Anthology I’m in. I need to do some updating I see. The time you must invest in the marketing aspect of it after writing the books is astronomical. You write and publish then sit back and wait, that’s step one. Next comes the hard part selling your book and getting readers and fans. You must grow some thick skin also. No matter how good the story there will be someone come alone and tell you they hate it. No reason this just happens. You can’t let it define who you are or what you do. You respect their opinion and go on.
Do you think that digital book libraries will be better than physical book libraries for our next generation? Why or why not?
I am an old school fan of paperback books and always will be. I loved checking my books out every Saturday at the local library. However, the future is very much digital. Even I read stories on my kindle app on my iPhone at night in bed. I believe the future looks sad and dim for libraries although I want to be wrong about that. It’s all about printing cost which is so high and expensive for the Author. We really don’t make but pennies sometime on the paperback book unless we charge extremely high prices which I refuse to do. Ebooks or rather digital books are on line where many can get to them and shop from there. It is easy for all.
Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers?
Yes I have two open books going right now. I’m writing CT & Johnny Granger AKA Grasshopper’s continuing Saga. I plan on releasing this summer. I actually already have a cover and title prepared. Also the Anthology I am in Ytherynia: Gifted Blood Academy will release book 2, Sophomore Year this Dec. 20201. I create the Light Fae Species Zazzline Kolia*
How has your experience with AllAuthor been?
It has been awesome, smooth & easy! Setting up my Author page has been smooth. I love how easy I can go in and adjust new covers and categories. I took advantage of the promotional offer and still have my Thriller Scream While I Whisper, book 1 being promo. I will switch to another one in July when that time is up. I was looking for a good social media site vs Facebook & my private website and have been very happy so far. Thank you for your support. You have been awesome!
